650 Laid Off BankAtlantic Employees Offered Jobs

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — 650 BankAtlantic employees made jobless after BB&T bought the Fort Lauderdale-based bank have been offered jobs by the North Carolina-based bank giant.

The South Florida Business Journal reports BB&T’s South Florida market president Michael Oster recently made the announcement.

The deal, which got regulatory approval and was completed on Tuesday, boosted BB&T to sixth in South Florida with about $7 billion in deposits. As it stands now, South Florida is the largest metropolitan region for deposits and branches for the bank (NYSE: BBT), Oster said.

The BankAtlantic branches and operating system will be converted into BB&T sometime in the fourth quarter. For customers eager to learn the details, a welcome message for BankAtlantic customers will be placed on BB&T’s website on Wednesday.

Oster noted that BB&T has acquired 100 banks and thrifts, so it’s very good at making smooth transitions. He joined BB&T after his bank in Maryland was acquired.

As for BankAtlantic’s employees, 650 of them have been offered jobs with BB&T, although some chose to work in other states with the company. BankAtlantic had 914 employees on June 30, down from 1,055 in September shortly before the deal was announced.

Oster said that the retail employees would mostly remain, but some of the back office functions were duplicative. The BankAtlantic employees not offered jobs will be given 60 days notice, a severance payment, outplacement services and first priority for any job openings with BB&T.

Oster said BB&T is still evaluating whether to close some South Florida branches and it will make that move all at once, instead of acting branch by branch.

“We consider the branches’ visibility, convenience, physical structure, its place in the community and doing what’s best for our shareholders,” Oster said.

MORE DETAILS:

– Learn how services and operating hours at the former BankAtlantic branches will change, in the South Florida Business Journal’s full article.

– For how the financials will play out in the completed deal, in the article by CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

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